Love is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) for up to 400 players on
a single server. It is entirely developed and maintained by a single person,
Eskil Steenberg, who also designed all the technology by himself. Initially
the game required a monthly fee to play, and came with a free account for a
friend who can only log on when you are playing. In late 2012 the business
model was changed to free-to-play with premium services.

The game is set a persistent world where players need to cooperate against
five AI-controlled tribes. There is no player-versus-player element, but
obnoxious players can be removed using a special tool and assisted by a vote.
The main gameplay is a combination of strategy (building and maintaining a
base) and action (first-person shooter gameplay). Players need to establish a
settlement, defend it against the enemy tribes and take out the other tribes’
cities in the process.

Tokens are the most important elements to the game. By gathering these and
returning them to the base, new abilities can be unlocked. Some of these are
related to the strategy elements, such as constructing radio towers, turrets
or setting up forcefields or wiring power, while others are tied directly to
the players, such as new weapons or the ability to dive. There are also tools
to alter the environment in real time, by digging tunnels, constructing hills
or destroying parts of the environment. These changes are permanent and affect
all players, but all constructing or landscape shaping can only be done in the
vicinity of the monolith that marks the players’ own settlement. Whenever an
enemy’s settlement is destroyed, the members start rebuilding it elsewhere and
the same option is given to the players. The world design is often updated
with new areas, items and abilities and there is a constant day and night
cycle. Tokens can be found in the free world, inside the bases of enemy tribes
or only in specific areas.

The player has four slots to store tools and using these requires a certain
amount of power. Certain constructions can also be accessed from a distance,
such as radio towers or teleportation points that can be activated. Enemy
infrastructure can be hacked or interrupted, which is often needed to prevent
enemy artillery from bombing the settlement to smithereens. When dying the
player respawns immediately. Players can chat to each other through text, but
there is also a permanent TeamSpeak server for voice chat.

The game has a distinct visual look where the vivid colours seem smeared as to
resemble impressionist paintings. Most of the game is constructed using
procedural generation techniques.

Love